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CHARLOTTE LABOR JOURNAL
Oldest
Bona Fide
AFL
Newspaper
in
North Carolina
VOL. XIX; NO. 2
CHARLOTTE, N. C, THURSDAY, MAY 19. 1949
Subscription Price $2.00 Year
NINETEENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
WILMINGTON THE SEAPORT CITY AND RALEIGH THE CAPITAL
I
CITY HALL
WILMINGTON
Wilmington is the leading port
city for North Carolina, located
on the east bank of the Cape Fear
River, about 30 miles from the
Atlantic Ocean. »
The first settlement was made
here in 1730, and in 1800 it was
a village with a population of
1,689. Evidence of its progressive
ness lies in its increased population
to 33,401 in 1910, and today it is
estimated to be a city of 50,000.
Industrially, Wilipin^of posses
ses a well-balanced economy with
120 manufacturing firms producing
a well diversified line of finished
goods. It is an important center
for the manufacture of fertiliser,
wood and wood products, cotton
goods, creosoted products, hosiery,
neckties, other chemical products,
etc. Wilmington is the second larg
est distribution point on the Atlan
tic seacoast for bulk petroleum
products.
Its retail trading area extends
inland for seventy-five miles, with
a population of 275,000. Its whole
sale area covers a radius of 150
miles and has a population of,
385,000.
Wilmington is easily accessible
by air, land, water and rail. It
' is served by two railroads, five j
freight trucking companies, the
Inland waterway, three highways, j
bus lines and passenger and freight
airlines.
The Port of Wilmington is 174
miles northeast of Charleston,
South Carolina, and 412 miles south
of Norfolk, Virginia. The harbor
of the city occupies the entire
width of the Cape Fear River and
extends south from a point about
| one mile north to Hilton Bridge,
j to about two miles below the south
; boundary of the city and about 30
miles to the ocean bar.
A depth of 30 feet at mean low
1 tide is available across* the bar and
' up the river to Wilmington. Con
templated Federal waterway pro
ject for Cape Fear River will in
crease the depth to 35 feet. Fifty
seven wharves of various lengths
and depths are in operation at
Wilmington. Ocean terminals have
WILMINGTON WATER FRONT
i
a capacity of 635,000 square feet
and can serve 11 steamers and 105
cars. These terminals are equipped
to handle and expedite general car
goes with dispatch via water, rail
aid motor carriers. Wilmington's
harbor channel is navigable
throughout the year.
The imagination and interest of
tourists and vacationists are cap
tured by Wilmington’s natural
beauties, famous gardens and plan
tations, beautiful Greenfield Luke
in the heart of the city, its his
toric ruins and landmarks, sport
fishing grounds and miles of ex
cellent ocean beaches.
Its mild southern climate allows
for year-round activity at nearby
beaches, exciting exercise in the
Gulf Stream for game fish, and for
spring garden tours when the
azaleas and camellias burst into
bloom at beautiful Orton and Air
line plantations, and with thous
ands of such plants unfolding a
panorama of riotous color at scenic
Greenfield Lake studded with old
cypress trees covered with Spanish
moss.
Wilmington has many famous
historical buildings and landmarks,
I including British General Corn
wallis’ Revolutionary War Head
quarters. Several of the oldest
churches in America, the church
where Woodrow Wilson worshipped
as a youth, the site birthplaee of
Whistler’s mother, historic Fort
Fisher, Orton Plantation and its
magnificent old mansion built in
1725. . i
S
Wilmington is the center of one
of ’ the greatest farm producing
centers in the United States. In
the area are located the principal
tobacco, corn, potato, soybean,
strawberry, lettuce and peanut
producing counties of North Caro
lina. The nearby Castle Hayne
district is world-famous for its
millions of beautiful daffodils and
gladioli. Cut flowers from these
fields are sold throughout the
United States.
In addition to its famous fishing
grounds where an annua] fishing
rodeo is held each fall from Sep
tember 15 through October 31, with
thousands of dollars in cash prises
for the best fish caught. Wilming
ton is blessed with excellent
schools, and churches of all denom
inations, parks and playgrounds
well kept, swimming, golfing, sail
ing, boating and riding. Wilming
ton and its beaches has many ho
tels and cottages which maintain
moderate prices.
Wilmington is an ideal location
for new industrial branch plants. It
has many excellent land sites for
manufacturing purposes. Skilled
and semi-skilled labor is readily
available, and there are ample
housing facilities for industrial
employees.
Wilmington is proud of its ex
cellent health facilities, including
its medical center, modern hos
pitals, prominent doctors, dentists,
and surgeons. Its excellent mild
climate makes for a healthy place
to live.
ALVAILKEMP
POPULAR A. F. OF L.
ORGANIZER PASSES
Alva H. Kemp, AFL represen
tative, who for the past three
years has been stationed in Char
lotte, passed away last week in
a local hospital, following a brief
(Cootinned on Page 4)
TOBACCO WORKERS
ORGANIZING PLANT
IN WINSTON-SALEM
WINSTON-SALEM. N. C. — An
active organizing campaign has
| been launched at Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, by the Tobacco
; Workers International Union in
! the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Com
pany. There are approximately
10,000 workers in this plant.
The Campaign, is in charge of
I Vice President S. E. Blaine, of the
Tobacco Workers International
j Union with a large staff of or-j
ganizers under his direction. As-1
sisting from the A. F. of L. staff '
are L. T. Gourley and A. E. Brown. 1
The labor relations experience in !
the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Com- j
pany has been stormy over a long
period of years. The most recent 1
activities have been the CIO Food i
& Tobacco Workers Organization.'
which has been generally accused
of being Communist dominated and
the employees are in revolt against
i that type of leadership.
Appearing above is a picture of
North Carolina’s Capitol buildihg.
The original Capitol of North
Carolina was destroyed, by fire on
June 21. 18.11.
At the session of November,
18.‘12. the Assembly resolved to re
build on the old site, and $50,00(1
NEW HANOVER HIGH SCHOOL—WILMINGTON
SOUTHERN LABOR HOSTS
TO GERMAN LABOR AT
ATLANTA FOR 3 WEEKS
ATLANTA, GA.—A delegation
of German Labor Specialists are
guests of the Southern office of
the American Federation of La
bor, where they will remain for a
period of about three weeks. Pres
ident William Green, of the Amer*
ican Federation of Labor, directed
Acting Southern Director, J. L.
Rhodes, to give special attention to
this group of German Labor Spe
cialists in arranging tours of in
dustries in the Atlanta and South
ern territory and interviews with
labor unionists and workers engag
ed in industry that they may take
back to Germany the integrated'
work of the American Trade Union
Movement.
Those in the tour are Hannelore
Conze, who is a specialist in em
ployment office operation in Bre
men area and is especially inter
ested in employment features of
both union offices where they place
workers in the field and in em
ployment of workers through pub
lic employment offices.
Klara Schwabb has a correspond
ing position in Germany to oar
Federal Conciliators or Mediators
and is making a special study of
methods of mediation and concili
ation and the acceptability of this
service in the labor unions of this
country. She is taking special in
terest in the needs, effects of this
work and the accomplishments of
the concilation and mediation.
Eugen Mayer is national secre
tary of the over-ail Labor Organi
zation of the Western Sector of
Germany, connected directly with
the labor movement of Germany.
He is interested in interviewing as
many trade union officers, stew
ards, etc., as is possible in order to
streamline the work of the free
J
■\
trade union movement of Germany
and to keep as near as possible the
American philosophy of trade un
ionism.
Hermon Klinkenbert, Judge of a
labor court of the Western Sector
of Germany, who exercises the
authority of adjusting grievances
arising between the employers and
employees, is accompanying the
group and is making tours of in
dustries in the Southern territory.
While in Atlanta this delegation
was introduced to many local un
ions and workers in the organized
industries of Atlanta territory and
were taken on toyj», including one
to the State Capitol by Organizer
George H. McGee, who is state
Representative from Chatham
County, Georgia, and interviewed
Governor Talmadge, after having
made a tour of the capitol, and
seeing the function of our state
government first hand.
President John Lytgen, of the
Savannah Trades and Labor As
sembly, volunteered to sponsor
tours for this delegation on the
water front and through the paper
industry of Savannah. The Chem
ical Workers International Union
at Brunswich entertained them as
guests and arranged a tour
through the Hercules Powder Com
pany in the Brunswick area.
This delegation will make a
tour of the Birmingham Iron and
Ore territory and through Flor
ence-Sheffield-Tuscumbia area of
Alabama in order that they may
view the aluminum operations and
TVA developments of that section.
In the closing days of their visit to
the South they will tour the furni
ture factories of North Carolina
and the textile areas of North
■
THE STATE CAPITOL, RALEKiH
(
'
was appropriated for the purpose,
j Commissioners were appointed to
j have the work done. The rubbish
i was cleared away, the excavations
made and the foundation was laid.
On July 4, 1833, the cornerstone
i was set in place.
After the .foundations were laid
the work progressed more slowly,
and it was so expensive that the
i appropriation was exhausted. The
| Legislature at its next session ap
| propriated $75,000 more. To do the
' stone and finer work many skilled
I artisans had been brought from
I Scotland and other countries. The
Building Commissioners contracted
with David Paton to come to
Raleigh and superintend the work.
Mr. Paton waa an architect wh>
had come from Scotland the yeas
before. He was the builder, the
architect, and designer.
The stone with which the build
ing was erected was the property
of the Stfte. Had the State been
compcllfK to purchase this mater
ial the cost of the Capitol would
-have been considerably increased.
In the summer of 1840 the work
! was finished. At last, after more
than seven years; the sunt of $531,
674.46 was expended. As large as
the sum was for the time, when the
State was so poor 'and when the
entire taxes for all State purposes
reached less than $100,000, yet the
people were satisfied. The building
had been erected with rigorous
economy, and it was an object of
great pride to the people. Indeed,
never was money better expended
than in the erection of this noble
Capitol. • , _
The first Capitol of North
Carolina was in New Bern, but j
later it was removed to Raleigh.
North Carolina, often called the j
“Tar Heel” state, was the scene of
the first attempt at colonization in
America by English-speaking peo
ple. Under a charter granted to!
Sir Walter Raleigh by Queen Eliz
abeth, a colony was begun on Roan
oke Island. This settlement how
ever, was unsuccessful and later
became known as “The Lost Col
ony.’’
North Carolina, on April 12.
I 1770, authorized
1 the Continental
foi‘ independence
her 18, 1776,-adopted a constitu
tion. Richard Caswell became the
! first governor under this constitu
j tion. On November 21, 1789, the
j state adopted the United States
! Constitution, being the twelfth
| state to enter the federal union,
j North Carolina, in 1788, had re
I jected the Constitution on the
grounds that certain amendments
were vital and necessary to a free
people.
A < new state constitution was
adopted in 1868 and since that date
the governor has been elected by
I the people fr r four-year terms and
I he cann*- succeed hiniseif. Thera
1,since !8«t8, but numerous amiud
1 manta have been added to it.
North Carolina has been demo
cratic since 1900, during which
period it has made its greatest
progress.
North Carolina has had two
permanent capitals—New Bern and
Raleigh — and there have been
three capitol buildings. Tiyon’s
Palace in New Bern was construct
ed in the |>eriod, 1767-70, and the
main building was destroyed by
fire February 27, 1898. The first
capitol in Ruleigh was completed in
1794 and was destroyed by fire on
June 21, 1821. The present capitol
was completed in 1840.
North Carolina supports a nine
months school for every child of
school age and maintains a fleet
of 4,800 buses by which it trans
ports 348.000 children to school
each school day in the year. During
a nine months term these 4,800
buses travel approximately 31,000,*
D00 miles.
GREATER HEALTH BENFEITS
Philadelphia. — Members of the
Philadelphia Orchestra represented
by Local 77 of the American Fed
eration of Musicians won new
health benefits and higher travel
allowances under terms of a con
tract covering the 1949-50 season.
her\ delegates in
Congress to vote
, and on Decern
BACK PAY FOR CjTRUS
WORKERS IS AWARDED
AUBURNDALE, FLA. — Cit
rus Workers Unions in Florida
have cracked down on the compan
ies for unfair labor practices and
have gained substantial reimburse
ments to discharge employees for
unfair discharges. They have not
lost a single case where discharges
have been made and where the un
ions have prosecuted on behalf of
workers.
Snively Groves, Inc. heavy oper
ators of large packing house juic
ing plant and frozen concentrates
--
Georgia and North Carolina to
gether with a tour of the Tobacco
industry of that state and will
then return to Washington and
their native land.
This group of German Trade
Unionists are sponsored through
the U. S. Department of Labor,
which is asking the American
Federation of Labor to arrange
this tour for the purpose of edu
cation and in furthering demo
cratic free trade unions in Ger
many.
plants were charged with unfair
| labor practice in discharging four
employees during the season just
' closing. The Labor Board follow
ing its investigation were succee
ful in securing reimbursement for
these employees in the sum of
$1400.00.
L. Maxeey, Inc. Fostproof, Flor
ida, has agreed to pay four em
ployees $2,000.00 and offer rein
statement to their former positions
following the filing of charges in
that case.
The National Labor Relatione
Board recently found the Southern
Fruit Distributors, Inc., Orlando,
guilty of unfair labor practices and
ordered restitution of lost time and
reinstatement to a discharged em.
ployee.
Holly Hill Products Company,
Davenport, Florida, has a charge
pending against them involving the
denial of employment of 47 em
ployees because of union activity
and this suit may aggregate a pay
ment of about $15,000.
1